Doremus wants a “never-quit attitude, hustle all the time and a team that causes errors while limiting their errors. They are an athletic bunch. They work well together and they like to run. We’ve got some outside shooters.”

The team will run primarily a man-to-man defense either in the half court or full court. “We need to be fast paced. The girls are small and athletic. Our post height will be 5-foot-8, 5-9 and 5-10. On offense, we try to put ourselves in position to find people open off a cut or a screen or an open lay-in. We are extra-focused on accomplishing a lot this year.”

“Having only one senior presents problems, but with the two Lexies, Kaitlyn and Sarah having played significant minutes (last season), that will give us some experience to lean on. We could be as athletic as we were last year. We have a little bit of size but not that 6-foot girl in the middle. Quickness and what length we do have will have to counter balance any size we may come across.

“We’ll have to lean on kids to step up and make shots. We’re hoping that we can be varied in what we do, both in the full court and in the half-court. Games and match ups will dictate what we do.

“DeSales is versatile and has pretty much their whole team intact. You kind of chose your poison with them. Asotin has a couple of girls that can score the basketball. It will depend on who we are playing, where we are at in the schedule, and how quickly we can get the inexperienced girls up to speed, as to what we are going to do.”

“Our kids believe they can get back to the state tournament and compete very well.

“Based on our performance last year at the state tournament, defense is our strength. It was the only reason we got as far as we did. That won’t change. On offense our strength is balance. We’re a lot better inside than we were last year. Having another year under their belt has really helped Allison (Wujek) and Claire (Conley). We can shoot the ball on the perimeter and should be a lot better offensive team.

“We’re going to run a bit more post oriented stuff. We are not going to change a whole lot because the stuff we run, we can get the ball into the post at any time. It’s a matter of taking advantage of it. This year, we’ll be more willing to take advantage (getting the ball to the post). Our posts are playing with more confidence, and our guards have more confidence in them, so they won’t be afraid to throw it in there.

“First and foremost, the biggest thing we need to improve on is free throw shooting. We’re going to get to the line, because we’re pretty big inside. We’ve got to hit free throws at a higher percentage than we did last year.

“Asotin will be really competitive. On certain nights, Dayton is going to give you a ballgame. They are young and will be a bit on the inconsistent side. I think we will be better offensively, and if we defend the way we did the last seven games of last season, we will be competitive with anybody.”

“Jerry (Baker, former head coach) said he wasn’t going to leave me hanging as a new coach. He’s been a great help being here every day volunteering to help out. He’s making sure we’re getting on the right track.

“We’re going to try to be a fast break team. We’ll try to move the ball up the floor and use our quickness to our advantage. We’re working a lot (defensively) with both man and zone. In the past, we’ve been a man team, but I would like to change that with a zone. Every girl has to do her part in a zone, so we are working on developing strong team work.

“DeSales will be our top competitor this year. We need to work on our intensity and dedication. Our girls will have to overcome themselves. Our confidence is low. They need to build confidence in themselves.

“Chelsey (Brannock) will be a strong point guard for us. Heidi (Miller) was a strong post for us last year. Samantha (Fedderson) and Paige (Wood) are tall, strong posts and will be really good for us.”

“I know the league is going to be tough. A lot of teams lost critical players from last year. There are a lot of questions marks, but there are programs that are always playing well — Asotin, DeSales, Dayton. It’s going to be a strong league again.

“For us, it’s going to be a scramble. Our girls are going to have to figure out how they fit in the big picture in terms of making contributions. Scoring points will be a big issue (lost two-thirds of offensive output from last year).

“To be competitive, we’ll have to play good defense.

“We have a young team. We have two freshman that have a lot of potiential.

“We have a hard-working group of girls. We don’t have many players (11), but we’re experienced. A lot of them started for me, so they saw a lot of varsity time. Finishing fourth in our league was pretty good. We split with the second- and third-place teams in our league (St. John-Endicott and Rosalia). I am expecting a lot of good things out of them.

“It will be a tough league, but I think we’re going to do really well. Everyone (from places two on down) will be pretty much even.”

Four upperclassmen lead a 14-player squad coached by Helix graduate Flerchinger, who was an assistant las season. He has coached at the junior high level, and his father coached at Helix for 20 years. Six sophomores and four freshmen round out the squad.

“We are a young team this year. But everybody will get some playing time and we we expect to be very competitive. We have seven girls vying for five spots this year that will start. We will compete and be ready as smart, knowledgeable players. We are really looking forward to the season, and we will build around our tall girls that have played together since they were kids.”